The Saints enter their Thursday night game against the Bears this week with a defense that was nowhere near great, but good enough when it needed to be. New Orleans' offense wouldn't have been in position to run out the final 3:15 on Sunday if the defense hadn't stiffened after Atlanta took over on offense with 5:41 left.

We might be talking about an entirely different ending if Atlanta, which maneuvered out of a second-and-15 at its 15-yard line to post a first down and got to second-and-3 from the 37 with 3:58 left, hadn't been shut down on its next two plays. Quarterback Matt Ryan ran for a 2-yard loss and threw an incomplete pass, which led to a punt on fourth-and-5 from the 35.

"You'd like more consistency, in terms of third down," linebacker Scott Fujita said, after the Falcons converted seven of 12. "With (Atlanta's) offense, there are a lot of different threats.

"But it's kind of how big the play is when you step up."

So, front and center for cornerback Leigh Torrence, who stopped Falcons receiver Michael Jenkins after a 7-yard gain on first down. And defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy, who caught Ryan for a 2-yard loss on second-and-3 from the 37. And all their teammates who pressured Ryan into his errant throw on third down.

The Falcons finished with 414 yards of offense, including 315 passing by Ryan, the shoo-in Rookie of the Year, on 24 completions in 33 passes. But Atlanta couldn't get the 80 yards it needed most, the 80 that would have turned a 29-25 score into 32-29 and would have sent the Saints scrambling to try to kick a tying field goal or score a winning touchdown.

"I thought one of the things that we started getting to was a little bit more zone," Payton said of the defense. "The thing that happens is they're able to take their inside receiver and kind of wiggle him across the formation, and they do that with about 20 seconds left on the play clock. And then Matt tries to gather some information as to what you're in coverage-wise.

"I thought we did a good job later in the game of getting in a little bit more zone coverage and really kind of forcing them to run the ball and not give up the big play in the passing game. I think one of the things that we were able to do in this game -- they converted a couple of third-down passes, third-and-long -- but by and large, we didn't give up those excessive plays that we did in the first game when we played them in Atlanta (a 34-20 loss Nov. 9).

"It was a little bit more patient game plan, but I thought we did a good job of executing it. It just comes down to a third-down play there, and I think we felt like they were going to punt because of the time left. Credit our guys for coming up with that stop when we needed it, because I do think that's one of the better offenses that we've seen this year, and certainly in our division."

That division, the NFC South, still is playing keep-away with the Saints.

The Falcons (8-5) remain a game ahead. Either Carolina (9-3) or Tampa Bay (9-3), who play tonight, will remain three games ahead, and the loser will be two games ahead. And there are only three games left.

But for three consecutive weeks, the Saints have played winning defense. Twice, including Sunday, quality won out over quantity, and New Orleans' defense got what it needed, if not what it wanted.

"We knew at the end of the game, it was going to be on us," defensive end Will Smith said. "We knew what they were trying to do. It was just a matter of whether you can stop it."